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> 7mm Practical
7mm Practical
@ 06:12 pm (GMT) |
Murray McGehanNathan, I just read the latest March/April of NZ Guns & Hunting with the very informative article on the 7mm Practical and was considering building up either a 7mm STW OR A 7MM RUM. The feature on the 7mm was just what I needed to read. I see that the Remington Model 700 was your weapon of choice is there many other actions you would consider more than suitable for this cartridge? |
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@ 08:13 pm (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: 7mm PracticalHi Murray, yes its a doozy. The cartridge is very much like the 7mm Rem mag in that it never fails to please and can be used of a day, without having to worry about barrel life. We have assembled a few rifles now, its pretty pat, the velocities are always the same as my rifle or better, never less. No fussy performance, just like the 7mm Rem mag and parent .300 Win Mag.As far as actions go, I prefer the M700 for multiple reasons. Primarily, it is simple to work with, just a basic platform that is easy to accurize, whether that be machining or bedding. The second factor is the long magazine box, ideal for long magnum cartridges. Other suitable donor actions would include: Win M70 push feed Win M70 control feed Sako Finnbear L61 Sako AV Howa (Wby Vanguard) Long Weatherby MkV All of the above apart from the MkV are best blue printed during a build. Unsuitable actions, due to limitations of COAL include: Tikka Ruger M77 Browning M98 Mauser Parker Hale P14 M1917 M1903 The Savage long action is borderline (regarding COAL) but would be acceptable with its mag length of 3.5" (89mm) and inexpensive into the bargain. Both the Sako 75 and 85 actions have suitable magazines but both are finicky to work with therefore, a level of patience is required during a build. These actions demand a high level of skill and work ethic during accurising. The bedding should consume atleast 16 hours labor. When choosing a smith for bedding work, avoid anyone who states that they can bed one of these 'quickly'. There are many other premium actions that are suitable such as the Barnard long, Nesika, BAT etc etc. I also quite like (am a fan of) the Montana M1999 but again, this one should be blue printed to really let it shine. If you want to know any more about the Practical, just keep firing away with questions. Cheers, Nathan. |
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@ 10:46 pm (GMT) |
LandonRe: 7mm PracticalNathan what rifles do you recomend to convert to 7mm practical, and what are the estimated costs.I live in Western Australia wheat belt and am interested in long range shooting and hunting. do you consider the recoil on that rifle to be greater than 7mm rem mag. my interest so far has been in the 7mm wsm with bergers bullets. Belted cartridges are something I would avoid if possible, but it seems VLD bergers in short actions/magazines are a problem. your imput and advise would be appreciated. Regards Landon. |
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@ 11:11 pm (GMT) |
Murray McGehanRe: 7mm PracticalLandon I am sure Nathan will be along soon to answer this but performance of the practical is more in line with the Remington Ultra Mag and 7mm STW so would be a slight step up from the 7mm Remington Magnum. All things being equal which they seldom are, you don't get something for nothing so recoil is probably higher but it would only be a small amount and may not even be noticable. So many different things can add or decrease both felt and perceived recoil, stock design weight of rifle. A muzzle brake or porting as in the magna port style both can significantly reduce recoil but both of these options usually add noise and in the case of brakes ad increased unnecessary and unusable barrel length. Possibly something like adding a very stiff varmint profile barrel may be a good way of adding extra weight to the rifle to bring recoil down to 7mmRem Magnum levels,but that can be a bummer if you want to carry the rifle around the hills for days on end, |
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@ 11:19 pm (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: 7mm PracticalHi Landon, great to hear from you. I have moved your enquiry/post to here as the above post will answer your questions regarding suitable actions.The recoil of my rifle is fairly moderate. Nevertheless, recoil inertia is similar to the parent .300 Win Mag. What you have to bare in mind, is that recoil varies greatly from rifle to rifle and simple changes in design have a huge effect on recoil. As an example, a stock which features a measure of drop at the butt, will recoil horrendously, as will a stock that is too long in the butt for a shooter. When I am working on client rifles, its not uncommon for me to be beaten into next week by a lightweight 7mm-08. Now imagine this, if the said 7mm-08 was the only rifle I had ever fired in my life and you showed me a 7mmRM cartridge- I would run the other way. Yet this is exactly what shooters go through, many never knowing that a stock design or ultra light barrel was adding recoil. I don't like heavy recoil, not for long range work as minor changes in hand hold shift the POI. You have a few choices, you can adopt a braked rifle or build a rifle with a long fat barrel like mine. WA is flat land and you will be getting somewhat close to your hunting area by vehicle which takes the pressure off, allowing you adopt a fat, long barrel to tame recoil while allowing for high velocities. I really am a fan of the HS precision stock as it is a straight recoiling design and not too llong in the buttstock. All of my clients can use it, young or old, no-one seems to have any trouble with it, apart from the usual getting used to it all etc. Cost of a build tends to be up around the price of a new M700 Sendero- something to keep in mind as a factory Sendero may very well suit your every need. Nevertheless, if you already have a donor action, you will be looking at the price of a barrel plus fitting (up to $1000 AU), cost of a reamer (about $220 AU delivered) and some accurising work. If you go with all the whistles and bells of blue printing your donor action (which can sometimes prove to be critical), a project can cost up to around $1600AU. You do have a measure of control over budget however it pays to remember that smithing is time consuming and that the cheaper you try and go, the more pressure it can add to the whole job. As far as belted mags go, I have never had a problem with them. I remember Nick Harvey stating the same some years ago. Like Nick, I always neck size belted mags to obtain optimum accuracy. If you really want to avoid the belt, you could investigate creating and building yourself a 7mm-.375 Ruger. ballistics would duplicate the 7mm Dakota and 7mm STW but you will find it easier to obtain brass than the Dakota. You would have to check around though, make sure someone is stocking Hornady Brass. I see QLD Gun exchange has some parent .375 Ruger brass (Hornady): http://www.qldgunexchange.com/QGEWeb/product_category.seam Let me know if I can help more. Cheers, Nathan. |
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@ 11:39 pm (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: 7mm PracticalSorry, to qualify the 7mm-375 Ruger. Velocity is the same as the Practical, STW and Dakota. It will have greater throat erosion than the Practical, in line with the STW and Dakota. You'll be using around 85 gains powder as opposed to my 76 grain charges and will need a bit of freebore to alleviate pressure spikes. |
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@ 09:42 pm (GMT) |
Ross GoldsackRe: 7mm PracticalI've got a 7mm Practical M700 and have now put 300 shots through it.The recoil feels no more than when this rifle was chambered in 7mmRemMag, but recoil is very hard to judge. I am still considering having a brake fitted for the sole reason that I feel it will improve accuracy when shooting in the feild from an difficult shooting position. Not that this rifle is inaccurate, it shoots 1/2 MOA off the bipod and even better off sandbags. My rifle is quite heavy at about 14lbs (laminate stock,28" barrel, Nighforce and Bipod) but in the last 10 days I have carried this rifle over 40 Km ( I am certainly not a fitness freak either). I was in the Chatham Island's last week and shot a couple of trophy Pitt Island Rams and also a wild Bull (not some domestic X breed), then spent yesterday tramping around the back blocks of Taranaki looking for invisable deer. :-) Now I could have taken my light weight Tikka 308, but chose to take the heavy rig for the piece of mind knowing that if a long shot at a "once in a life time trophy" came up I could take it at 1000 yards if need be. I'm starting to rave on as much as Nathan, so I better shut up now !! |
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@ 10:01 pm (GMT) |
Ross GoldsackRe: 7mm PracticalI'll try and post a photo
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@ 10:04 pm (GMT) |
Ross GoldsackRe: 7mm PracticalThat worked so I will post another.This is the Chatham Island Bull that I shot at the super long range of 30 yards 
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@ 11:55 pm (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: 7mm PracticalYou got all the ingredients for a Cadillac make over there, seat covers, hood ornament, redneck.... |
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